"HI, I'M CLARA," she dashed towards the main counter to stand before Adrian, slightly pushing me away, "Nice to meet you."

"Same," he stared into her eyes, smiling.

Don't tell me...

I stared at both of them as they smiled sheepishly at each other.

Was he already mesmerised by her too?

Clara turned to me with a wide grin on her face and I had no other choice but to force on a smile. She hadn't even asked me how I was faring after she saw me pass out yesterday.

Maybe she forgot?

"Ah, Everhart! You've met your coworkers already?" Mr. Lenin asked Adrian on stepping out of his office, "Then, I'm afraid there's no use of a meeting anymore."

"Yes!" I heard Clara celebrate under her breath.

"I guess so," Adrian chuckled at Clara's mini jubilation.

"How do you find this place?" Mr. Lenin inquired, "Welcoming?"

"Yes," Adrian put on a mischievous smile, "And I think it's going to get real interesting soon."

Mr. Lenin turned to Clara and me, "The both of you should show him around and put him through with the tasks, alright?"

"Yes," Clara and I replied in unison.

Clara turned back to Adrian the moment Mr. Lenin walked off, pulling him to join us behind the counter, "So tell me, Adrian, which college do you attend? Boxton? Please tell me Boxton. I'd love to cross paths with you there."

She and Adrian were a clean distance away from where I was, so I couldn't join in on their discussion. Instead, I backed them, staring at the young man and the floral dress lady as they chatted at the round table. They were already done with their food and were gathering their things to leave the cafe.

"Oh, I'm not going to college," I overheard Adrian reply to her, "I dropped out."

I couldn't blame him. If I had the chance, I would have done the same thing but I needed to be a certified fashion designer to achieve my goal.

"How old are you?" Clara inquired.

"I'm twenty," Adrian answered.

My age.

"Aww, you're older than me," Clara said in a babyish voice, "I'm just eighteen years old. Quite little, right?"

"If you're speaking of 'little', then you should speak of the young lady over there."

I pursed my lips. I knew he was talking about me.

Clara's giggles filled the cafe and rang in my ears. Sometimes, I wished there was a remote control for her voice, so I could continuously press mute until the button glitched and caused her voice to vanish forever.

"Oh, stop," Clara said, laughing, "She's not that little."

"Wendy," she called out to me.

I turned around and rested my waistline on the edge of the counter, "What is it?"

"Did you hear what Adrian just said?" She asked, placing her hand on Adrian's shoulder.

I shifted my gaze to Adrian and he looked away.

"Yeah, I heard him," I walked towards the backroom, "Loud and clear."

I shut the door behind me and walked into the private room, settling down on one of the chairs. Clara seemed so excited about the new worker while I was only glad that he was going to relieve some of my stress. I mean, what else?

He would most definitely not want to associate himself with someone like me, not when Clara was there. All he would do was to make fun of me like he just did.

I stared outside the window, watching as the evening sky darkened; It was so beautiful.

If I were a sky, would I have been as beautiful as this? Would people finally look at me and marvel?

I wondered if there was a universe where I wasn't like the me here, if I was pretty and outgoing with lots of people who adored me.

All of a sudden, a very sharp pain pierced through my stomach.

"Ugh!" I groaned, falling from the chair and onto the floor.

I folded as I rested sideways on the floor and clutched my tummy in agony.

"Argh!" I clenched my teeth.

Not again.

"Yeah, I'm sure she's not mad. I'll go check up on her now," Clara said, walking into the backroom.

She halted to a stop at the entrance of the private room, "Wendy?"

"It's nothing serious," I groaned while still lying on the floor, "Just tummy ache."

She knelt beside me, feeling my tummy, "Is it that time of the month?"

"No, I'm already done for the month."

"Wendy, you should go home," she finalised.

She held my hands and slowly pulled me up, then took out my bag from my locker.

She shoved the bag into my arms, "I'll explain to the manager."

I held my tummy, "But—"

"I don't wanna hear it!" She yelled, already dragging me out of the backroom, "Your health comes first."

I forcefully pulled my hand out of hers and picked up a duster from behind the counter, still clutching my tummy, "At least, let me clean this place up first."

"No," Clara said, yanking the duster out of my hand, "I'll take care of it."

"And I can use the opportunity to show him around," Clara added, nudging at Adrian who was operating the cash register.

I clenched my teeth. After trying so hard to make it to work, I was going to end up with my boss cutting my pay for not closing at the normal time.

"Alright. Thanks," I breathed out.

I needed to rest, anyway.

"Yeah, bye," Clara pushed me out of the cafe, then waved at me, "Get enough rest!"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving back before I walked off.

Everything was slowly spinning around me. I tightened my grip on my bag and took little steps, so that my body wouldn't go crashing on the floor.

"Argh!" I softly moaned.

Why was this feeling so painful?

My stomach rumbled loudly in response as I walked past a fast food restaurant, piercing even sharper daggers of pain into me.

Maybe I should put this diet on pause.

I stopped walking forward and turned around, heading for the restaurant. I could die if I didn't find something to eat.

Could one die from starvation?

Walking down the aisle in the restaurant, I arrived in front of the counter and stared at the female attendant in a red T-shirt who approached me. It felt so weird being on the other side after a long day behind the counter.

"One hamburger and two fries, please," I said to her as politely as I could.

Saying the words alone already made me feel fatter.

"Place it on my tab," said a very hoarse voice behind me, startling me.

I turned around to see the young man who was staring at me in the cafe earlier.

Him?

I looked around, searching for the 'floral dress' lady but she was nowhere to be found.

Are we in her pits?

The young man smiled at me as our eyes met. Slightly brushing his hand against my arm, he placed his credit card on the counter.

He whispered in my ear, "Do you remember me?"

"Are you stalking me?" I frowned and pulled away from him, not giving a damn if he was being friendly.

He just laughed heartily, "Why would I do that? I came here to get some food and happened to see you. My workplace is down the street."

I glared at him, contemplating whether to trust his words or not.

"Here is your order," the lady behind the counter said to me, making me shift my gaze away from the young man.

I grabbed the take-out bag and pulled out all the money in my bag. Not bothering to count it, I shoved it all into the hands of the young man.

"Thanks for offering but I've got my own money," I said with furrowed brows.

With that, I walked out of the restaurant into the dark street.

"Hey! Wait!" I heard him yell from inside.

Strolling down the street with the junk-filled nylon bag in my hand, I exhaled. I should have just collected the free food.

"Miss!" I heard from far behind me.

I turned around and saw the young man again. He was walking towards me from a little distance back, waving at me.

"I don't want to talk to you!" I yelled.

"Just give me a minute!" He yelled back, further approaching me.

"No! You're weird!"

I turned around and sprinted down the sidewalk with the wind gently hitting my skin.

What the fuck was wrong with that guy?

Arriving at the T-junction, I turned to my left and kept running. I clutched at my stomach as it began to burn painfully from the inside.

"Ugh!" I winced.

I just needed to find a Taxi.

I ended my race at the bus stop and panted deeply, hurriedly shuffling through my bag to bring out my transport fare back home.

Oh.

I let go of my bag and it dangled from my shoulder, resting all its weight with its long strap.

I gave all my money to that guy.

I turned to my right to check if he was anywhere in sight and sighed in relief as there was no trace of him. But before I could reach for my bag again, someone suddenly grabbed my left hand.

"I told you I wanted to talk to you," the young man said, breathing heavily.

I tried to yank my hand away from his grip but there was no use. His hand was locked tightly around mine.

"Leave me alone right now or I'll scream," I said.

He let go of my hand, "Fine, I apologise for grabbing your hand but I just wanted to..."

He exhaled and took out the money I gave him from his pocket, stretching it towards me.

"Here's your money," he said.

"Keep it," I countered.

"I don't need it," he countered back.

"Then donate it to charity!" I yelled at him, "That'd be one good thing that has come out of your life."

"Just leave me the fuck alone," I finally said to him.

I turned around and stormed off, holding my forehead in pain.

Shit. All that confidence made me feel dizzy again.

My bossy strut slowly turned into a feeble walk and soon enough, I was staggering. I held onto the wall as I forced my legs forward.

Just two buildings away.

Thomas's place was just...

I dropped to the floor.

...two buildings away.

———————————————
Tip: Wendy looks more like her father while Samantha looks like her mom.